Is ‘compassionate conservatism’ dying out?

msnbc’s Joe Scarborough commented on Morning Joe Wednesday that Mitt Romney has conservatism all wrong. The candidate has been under fire over a secret fundraising tape, in which he appeared to brush off the 47 percent of Americans who don’t pay income taxes as moochers.

“We don’t look at them as the problem,” Scarborough said. “They are victims. They are the victims of bad economic policies.”

Scarborough went on to reference former president George W. Bush’s philosophy of “compassionate conservatism,” a philosophy he ran on in the 2000 election, and one for which he continued to advocate as president.

Bush best highlighted this style of governing during a 2002 speech in San Jose, California. He told the audience, “It is compassionate to actively help our fellow citizens in need. It is conservative to insist on responsibility and on results.”

Is this approach in Republican politics going the way of the dinosaurs?